Another busy weekend with a lot of new photos! I am still working on the Paragon Open photos, and hope to have those up during the week. Thanks to everyone that has already visited and placed order from the New Jersey State Open. There is an early-bird 20% off sale on all items until November 18, 2013. No coupon code is necessary as the website already takes into account the discount when you check out. The link to those photos is here:
Of course the majority of my ballroom dance photos are taken with as fast a shutter speed as I can. This freezes the action, and makes for sharp photos. This is the biggest challenge in ballroom dance photography as there is usually not as much light as the camera would like, and the dancers are moving quickly! To accentuate this, we made some extreme long exposure photos during the event. The one above was the longest at almost 2 seconds. It doesn’t sound like much, but look at the difference between most of our other photos! This was taken during a popular general dance song, so there are many couples on the floor. Here is one during a smooth heat:
This was only about 1 second. It really shows how fleeting the dance moments can be! All the more reason to put as much effort as you can to preserve them in the camera.
Earlier this week, I needed to bring my uncle to the airport for an early morning departure. With a 6:30 departure time, it was a VERY early morning for us. With the days being so long in the summer, I have not had the inspiration to get up before the sun. This is the best time to get landscape or architecture photos. Unfortunately this time was a little TOO early since the sky was still black as night, but I took advantage of the beautiful Main Terminal at Dulles International Airport to make photos of another landmark of the Washington, DC area. I tried making images with both the iPhone and my DSLR for comparison.
My father, an architect that had a great appreciation for clean, contemporary design, would always start to lecture as we approached this building. Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, the main terminal at Dulles is a panoramic structure of concrete and glass that echoes the air supporting the planes coming into and out of the airport. My dad would talk about the open concept interior, the rain management system that you do not even notice in the center of the airport, and the overall design that still looks modern even though it was designed in the 1950’s. The airport was just starting to wake up. There was minimal activity and traffic going into the terminal at 5AM in the morning. I found a nice spot in the Daily Garage closest to the main terminal. Walking to the top level to provides a nice clear view of the main terminal. Here is are the completely images from both uncropped, out of the camera:
I was a little surprised at the results. The iPhone did remarkably well considering what I was asking it to do. I had put the exposure measurement cursor right in the middle of the terminal. The default image would have made the terminal overexposed without any detail. In this case the camera compensates for the large portion of the frame that was dark, or completely black. This image would be sufficient for using on Instagram or Facebook if you are just establishing where you were travelling.
Comparing DSLR Imaging
When I setup the DSLR, I put the camera right on the edge of the wall of the garage to stabilize the camera, and manually set the exposure. I wanted it to be similar – with the terminal not over exposed. With the controls that are available on the DSLR, I set the aperture down to f/11 so that the exposure time is increased to 5 seconds. This makes for some really cool light trails from the cars coming into the terminal! This is really the main difference between these two photos when zoomed out to their default views.
As expected, though, the iPhone image really loses when you zoom in to see any detail in the photo. These conditions are really pushing the limits of the tiny sensor in this camera which is best when used in bright conditions. When you zoom into the DSLR photo, you can also see some nice star-like flares in the lights on the tarmac behind the terminal. These are a result of the aperture of f/11 which is a much smaller opening than f/2.4 that the iPhone was using to try to get as much light into the camera. This example clearly shows a few of the features that a camera with full controls can get for you compared to point-and-shoot or smartphone cameras.
It has been a while since I did a personal photo assignment. The weather has been very cloudy and stormy. This is a great time for photos especially in the summer months. The best time to make landscape photos is either early in the morning around sunrise, and early in the evening around sunset. Summer months in US makes this very difficult unless you get up really early before the sun! Well, this was not my day for getting up early, so the light was already strong.
Occoquan River Shores
The setting is a pier that stretches out into the Occoquan Bay in northern Virginia. Since the time was not optimal time for the best photos, I used a Neutral Density (ND) filter to help me out. This filter is like putting sunglasses onto the front of your lens. It blocks all the light coming into the lens which darkens the exposure. Some people consider this one of the only filters you need in the age of digital photography. The effect that this filter creates cannot be done in Photoshop very well.
I am sure there are some digital wizards that can use blurs and effects to make moving water smooth while keeping static elements sharp. This is what I was going for in trying to get out to the river on a cloudy, rainy morning. I was hoping that it would be darker out, but I still had to go to extreme on the camera to get an exposure over one second long. The settings for this first photo are 10 seconds at f/32, ISO 50.
The water is starting to smooth out at 10 seconds, but I think I would need it to be at least 20 seconds before it becomes really silky smooth. Again, coming out earlier in the morning would make the overall frame darker, and I could have made the exposure time longer. The light is also very flat since the sun is high in the overcast sky making the overall light in the scene very even.
This would have been perfect for a portrait, but a little boring for the landscape alone. I varied the position of the camera for the second with similar results. I made the pier more of the base for the photo without seeing as much of the water. Unfortunately, the clouds were also not as compelling as they could be, so this also falls a bit flat for me. In a return trip, I hope to come in better light, and maybe I will get lucky with more dramatic clouds. I’ll post here if I get something inspiring!
